Escape from Bug Island - hands-on

The virtual version of a rolled up magazine

You've used your Wii remote as a gun. You've used it as a sword. You've even used it as a bow and arrow. But have you ever used it as a giant bug-thwapping stick?

Escape from Bug Island will give you that chance. You'll use the motion-sensing controller to swing sticks and throw rocks at all sorts of foul insects, from mutated millipedes to ginormous praying mantises. Later in the game, your enemies will evolve to include demonic fish and zombie gorillas. If you're not in the right mindset to appreciate such bizarre and ridiculous action, however, you might have a hard time warming up to Escape from Bug Island.

The Japanese press certainly did when the game was released as Necro-Nesia in December of last year. Reviews complained about the game's controls, its graphics and, most of all, its silly presentation. Check out our ownimport reviewto get a good idea of what bothered people the most about Necro-Nesia.

For the game's American release, more than the title has been changed. In the first iteration of the game, nothing was more frustrating than attempting to combat an entire screen full of creepy crawlies when the game seemed to refuse to recognize your desperate motions. New publisher Eidos has listened to these complaints and has tweaked the controls to be more responsive and the aiming to be more precise. Another major issue was being forced into the menus every single time you wanted to switch weapons... which you had to do ALL THE TIME to simultaneously beat close bugs with your bug-beating stick and smack distant bugs with your bug-smacking rock. Now cycling through your entire arsenal of bug annihilation is a breeze with a click of the Nunchuk's "Z" button.